YTV in Canada has been re-running "Superfriends", the Wonder Twin era crap, at 1am (PST). I decided to watch it for old times sake and was wondering why no one had taken the time to do it right - the "Batman:TAS" approach? Suffering from insomnia, and not wanting to watch "Thunderbirds" I surfed for a half hour and went back to YTV to see what they had on next and I was NOT disappointed.
"Justice League" is what I always wanted "The Superfriends" to be. No lousy sidekicks, no space monkey, no ludicrous plots involving Martian brain creatures. It was like watching the comic book. I like the way they have presented the characters and the fact that there is tension - they maybe friends, but those relationships get strained. A powered down Superman, excellent had to be done. A stand-offish Batman, perfect. Jon J'onzz? Yeah... great character, perfectly voiced too!
However, I was happy to see that used the John Stewart GL- the DC universe's karmic kicking bag - and the Wally West Flash instead of using Hal Jordan and Barry Allen. Hal and Barry (especially Barry) were just too perfect too much of the time. I like them and they always have a special place in my comic book memories, but Stewart and West (as flawed heros) are better characters. In fact, I'd like to see them with their own shows someday. Wally West is a great character if you go in depth, rather than just leaving him as comic relief.
I hope Warner Brothers keeps this up, superlative job!
